


Zutara Month 2020

by SooperSara



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Humor, It's a whole mess of different moods, Podfic, Zutara Month, Zutara Month 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 4,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22508851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SooperSara/pseuds/SooperSara
Summary: A collection of 100-word drabbles written for Zutara Month 2020All in-universe, and a whole mess of different moods
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 236
Kudos: 262
Collections: Zutara Month 2020





	1. The Blue Spirit & The Painted Lady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e6Ck7EHRxkfT7Gnnf0PDQGqGW4rXeyTP/view?usp=sharing)

They move in flawless synchrony, the woman in burgundy, the man in midnight blue. From rooftop to rooftop, down alleys and forest paths, they travel as one.

The village knows nothing of their visit, but they will rise to a brighter morning. Their sick are healed, their food stores filled, and their bandits will trouble them no more.

At a crossroads, the Blue Spirit bows low. Beneath her veil, the Painted Lady smiles, and a gentle hand grants him permission to rise.

Soundless, they part. Until next time, they become a boy in red, a girl in blue once again.


	2. Momtara & Dadko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WtDIbMnBOCdq0_yC3DW10e8lVBXLZ_Cn/view?usp=sharing)

Zuko spends the first day watching. Or he means to. Every instinct tells him to learn how their group works before he belongs to it.

But it is chaos. The youngest of them are rowdy, the oldest too absorbed in gossip to notice. The waterbender— _Katara—_ is the exception, the point on which everything hinges. No work begins without her command, no disagreement resolves without her intervention.

He knows it's too much to carry alone.

So he lights the fire before she can ask and quiets an argument with a stern look.

He finds his place with them in moments.

* * *

Katara wants to resent his presence. She should hate the very sight of Zuko.

For a day, she convinces herself she does.

But when she rises in the morning to a fire already lit, a breakfast already cooking, the bitterness slips through her fingers. Zuko doesn't beg her forgiveness. He seems to expect nothing in return for his work. And though she won't admit it, it feels more natural with every day.

Their clothes are clean and mended, their group is fed and happy, and somewhere along the way, Zuko stops feeling like an enemy. He feels like a partner.


	3. Season 4 Zutara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BPLJSeQOLKYB8jNDf0DZqS_M1_NwhX-z/view?usp=sharing)

"I don't think I can do this."

"Zuko—"

"What if she doesn't recognize me? Katara, what if—"

"Slow down, Zuko. Okay? Breathe."

"I'm not ready for this. I can't just tell her I'm her son!"

"That's fine. We'll take as long as you need."

"It's been almost eight years, Katara. She never came looking for me."

"We'll take eight more years if you need it."

"No, that's not it."

"What, then?"

"It's been eight years. What if she doesn't want me anymore?"

"Then—then we'll figure that out together. I'm with you, Zuko. Nothing is ever going to change that."


	4. Don't Hurt Her/Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HkIUUZ2SNLmeGkP_n4FqikzfkSf666Mp/view?usp=sharing)

Zuko knows the hush that comes over the palace at times like this. There is a certain kind of stillness that only comes before assassins burst in and chaos breaks loose.

This time is different, though. Katara sleeps beside him, her curls strewn across the pillows. His blood runs cold. Before now, he has always faced these threats alone. Before now, he has never had a wife's safety to consider.

Soundless, he slips out of bed. It doesn't matter who has come for him. If necessary, he will fight them off with his bare hands.

They will not harm Katara.

* * *

Katara wakes to the sound of fighting in the corridors and an empty space beside her where Zuko should be. Before she has time to think, she is out of bed and running.

She finds Zuko surrounded and backed into a corner. He fights with all he has, flames and swords moving as one. But it isn't enough. The are too many attackers and the guards are nowhere to be seen.

Katara's jaw clenches. She will not be defeated. She takes hold of their veins and brings the assailants to their knees one by one.

" _No one_ hurts my husband."


	5. Southern Water Tribe Culture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oLeA5TvnKzdGS_U4yHPrat47Rd7qNYlo/view?usp=sharing)

After dark, while the palace sleeps, Zuko sets to work adding the final details to the koi and dragons in the blade of a pearl dagger.

For weeks, his advisors lecture him on the importance of silk and wine as marriage offerings while Pakku drops hints about Katara’s need for a new betrothal necklace. Zuko only pretends to listen. He already has all the advice he needs from Kanna and Hakoda.

He settles the finished dagger into its case alongside golden beads and ivory combs. For once, he is certain. His gift to Katara is exactly what it should be.


	6. Power Couple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kHwwFtIzoRx537_Lf3m21rDuRKjgYzd6/view?usp=sharing)

The bitter winds sting his face, but Zuko doesn’t mind. His parka, steel gray and trimmed with gold, staves off the worst of it. Besides, any amount of cold is worth it to see Katara here, surrounded by her element and her people.

At the South Pole, they can let their titles fall away. At the South Pole, they can just be human.

“Are you sure you want to spar with a master waterbender on a glacier?” she calls, grinning at him across the snow. _“Again?”_

Zuko smiles and takes his stance. “I'll always be sure about that, Master Katara.”


	7. Soulmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/18bDFcnXLOhiGHJC-ewbIXZo4jRJgUL8i/view?usp=sharing)

Katara tells them about seeing her mother through the mists. But she doesn’t tell them about seeing the little Fire Nation boy, tears streaming down his face as he pleads for his mother. She doesn’t tell them about seeing a smaller version of herself across from the boy, mourning her own loss. And she doesn’t tell them about watching the boy grow until a horrific, familiar scar mars the left side of his face.

“The swamp shows you what matters,” Huu tells them. “What you love.” He stares long and hard at Katara. “The swamp don’t make mistakes, little lady.”


	8. Agni Kai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IkB6JlbUWn5QYrJeGfT-QDB8MO4G2sQl/view?usp=sharing)

He catches the lightning in midair and the world turns sideways. It's too much to contain. It _burns._

Zuko doesn't feel the impact when he lands, but he feels his breath leave in a rush, he feels his lungs contract so he can manage no more than shallow gulps of air. 

Everything hurts.

He doesn't care. _Katara._ He has to get to Katara.

He tries to move, to reach her, but jolts of electricity still course through his nerves. He needs to stand, he needs to fight. 

It takes all his strength to raise his head.

His eyes grow heavy.

* * *

As she races back to him, her pulse begins to sound like a chant. _Zuko. Zuko. Zuko._

The moon isn't full, but when she pours all her strength into healing him, even his blood responds. She welcomes the control, embraces it. _Anything_ to keep him here.

His eyelids flicker, and he tries to rise before she is through. She should stop him. Should push him down, keep him still until the damage is repaired.

Instead, she pulls him closer. He is still breathing. And when two trembling arms find their way around her shoulders, she gives in to her tears.


	9. Partners in Crime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lmB5Fq58eOye5CuFM_vbXJbf8kVd-4H0/view?usp=sharing)

"We're not supposed to be in here."

"It's _your_ kitchen."

"I'm not supposed to be in here either."

"Scared, Fire Lord?"

"You don't know the cook like I do."

"I'll take my chances."

Keeping low, Katara creeps along the front of the shelves. Zuko sighs but follows.

She grins. "You get the tea, I'll get the cakes."

They divide on separate paths through the palace kitchen. They move with enough grace and stealth to break into a military base.

But tonight, they are satisfied with their spoils from the kitchen. They retreat, laughing, to a midnight picnic on the roof.


	10. Fake Dating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ETFQrZWb_OzEJKnwwLo1KLBO0FJ8tjFt/view?usp=sharing)

The bounty hunter won't leave her alone.

"You're still too pretty for him. His new hair helps, but— _eh."_

Katara's jaw clenches.

"Still. I've seen worse couples."

"We're _not—_ "

"And your brother and the fan girl _didn't_ just sneak away for some alone time." Jun winks. "I get it. Secret romance."

"Zuko and I are _not_ dating."

"Why? Because he's kinda ugly?"

Katara bristles. "He isn't ugly!"

That's the wrong thing to say. Jun grins knowingly—no, _not_ knowingly, there's nothing to _know—_ and nudges her.

"Gotta defend your man's honor, huh?"

Katara gives her darkest glower and stalks away.

* * *

Zuko recognizes the look on her face. Katara is out for blood.

"What did I do this time?"

She sits beside him. "Not you. Jun."

Zuko groans. "She's bothering you too?"

"It's driving me crazy. We have to make her stop."

Zuko nods. In some ways, Jun is worse than Uncle would be. "So, how are we going to convince her that we're not—"

Katara shakes her head. "We're not. We're going to play along."

Zuko blinks. It makes sense. Jun is less interested in telling the others than in being right.

Slowly, he nods. "Okay. Where do we start?"


	11. Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16v49yVgun2qI4GGaG4TmQkl1Hsx7ibwQ/view?usp=sharing)

Katara surveys the spectacle that is their bed. Or more accurately, _Druk's_ bed.

It was sweet when Druk was little. When he was no bigger than an arm and slept curled up by Zuko's neck. When there was space for two humans and a dragon and still plenty left over.

But now, Druk has grown. His scaly red form occupies all but a sliver on either side of the bed and his tail hangs to the floor.

Katara marches across the room. "Zuko. I love Druk, but we _need_ to find a more dragon sized place for him to sleep."


	12. Balance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/14KImmx8g2RAaFL7FVHFr1NX7M3vAHTmK/view?usp=sharing)

She watches him train every morning once they reach the island. It isn't what she expects. Most mornings, Zuko trains alone. And it looks different than the training she's used to, the _firebending_ she's used to. There is no aggression, no rage. There is stillness and meditation. There is grace and tranquility.

Katara is mesmerized.

She sees the improvement in his bending, she sees the new fluidity in his motions and his flames. She finds herself wandering closer.

On the third day he notices her.

She feels her face heat, but she approaches.

"Is it okay if I join you?"

* * *

He shouldn't be surprised when he comes across her training. Katara makes no secret of her nightly disappearances to the beach. She never suggests that company is unwelcome. But passing by still feels like an intrusion.

The moonlight turns her ribbons of water to silver and she whirls through her forms. She is tempestuous and ruthless.

He could watch her forever.

She calls Zuko's name and his mouth goes dry. He meets her gaze.

She has joined his training every morning this week. This is not an intrusion, he realizes. It is an invitation.

"Do you mind if I stay?"


	13. Folktale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SKTIVY29iVveqpIotOHigkcAWpsQHg99/view?usp=sharing)

Lying in the snow, they watch the lights dance across the sky. 

Katara tells Zuko stories of the spirits of the poles, of the ancient magic in every living thing.

She tells him of the first aurora, of how a waterbender lost her love and danced through the winter to keep his spirit close. How he saw her dancing and painted lights across the sky to keep her company. How the waterbender eventually joined him and their spirits have danced together ever since.

Zuko pulls Katara closer and her hand rests over his lightning scar. They could stay here forever. 


	14. Dao Swords

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16skkK15fYy_UM0EI788V1tjdmwFAJ11j/view?usp=sharing)

Katara doesn't expect to find anything of interest in the boys' swordsmanship. She’s watched Sokka train before, but Zuko’s technique is unlike anything she’s seen. His blades never meet, yet they move as one.

It almost looks like bending.

Katara has no need for weapons while she has command over her element, but watching Zuko, she remembers when her bending failed her. All the times a weapon would have done her good.

After dark, when Zuko is sleeping, she creeps into his room and steals his swords.

If it’s as much like bending as it seems, she can teach herself.

* * *

Zuko isn't surprised to hear rustling in his room. Privacy is an unknown concept at the temple.

But he doesn’t expect the blur of blue and brown at his door. Toph or Aang, he would understand. But Katara doesn’t seem the type to snoop. Or at least to be _caught_ snooping.

Zuko finds her on the terrace, swinging his swords like they are ropes of water. For a beginner, she could be much worse.

“I could show you some things if you want.”

She starts and one of the blades clatters to the ground.

After a long moment, she nods.


	15. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KQ718HZHsjh-LNabNnyPx3J0OdJi1HAP/view?usp=sharing)

He still sees it when he looks in the mirror. The ugly redness never changes, never fades.

There was a time when he was younger and he believed that someday he would become so accustomed to the scar that he wouldn’t see it. That someday it would stop mattering.

It never does.

He still sees the scar, but it looks different now. It _feels_ different. Now he sees the first place his daughter’s tiny, curious hands explored when she was old enough to sit. He feels Katara’s feather-soft kiss on his ruined eyelid.

Nothing has changed, yet everything is different.


	16. Intimacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/18WosF68Ql2fr3uydkeyp82RRqEOiPhqO/view?usp=sharing)

Katara is horrified to discover that she likes holding his hand. After she snatches him from midair, his grip lingers a moment.

Katara jerks away. She is furious. She will not be swayed by a warm, gentle hand.

But later, when she leaves a murderer breathing, when she can't stop shaking, it becomes her lifeline. Holding her hand, Zuko guides her back to Appa and helps her into the saddle.

She won’t let go. _Can’t_ let go.

Zuko doesn’t speak. Single-handed, he finds a blanket and drapes it over her dripping shoulders.

Katara can’t imagine ever letting his hand go.


	17. Eclipse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sEQWb5pVrtPsQc2UMi3XRxAnqPRTexQ8/view?usp=sharing)

He expects to be caught. Zuko knows his own luck too well to believe otherwise.

But he expects palace guards or the city watch, not— _her._ He curses himself for not remembering the waterbender's name.

For the space of a breath, neither moves. She stares at him, loose curls catching the breeze, eyes brimming with loathing. The only thing heavier than her hatred is his conscience.

Her rage doesn't pass, but her shock does, and her glare hardens. Even before she begins to move, he anticipates the attack.

He will not fight her. That part of his life is past.

* * *

  
Katara is grateful for the Fire Nation's oppressive humidity. She summons twin waterwhips from the sky.

Zuko doesn’t attack. In fact, he hardly moves. If she didn’t know better, Katara would almost believe that there is remorse in his eyes.

He bows, forehead brushing the ground. “I can’t fight you anymore.”

For an instant, she think he means the eclipse—that he can’t fight without his bending.

But the last word stops her.

_Anymore._

There is no time to question what he means. She flies back into battle.

But when he finds them at the temple, she begins to wonder.


	18. Caught Undressed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RBp7yIChAcR6g6wsvJF2CNYbCtnMVh4U/view?usp=sharing)

“Zuko!” She claps a hand over her eyes. “What happened to your clothes?” 

“I’m _washing_ them?”

“And that means you have to be naked?”

Zuko huffs. “I’m not naked, Katara. You can uncover your eyes.”

She peeks between her fingers. He isn’t lying. Not naked, just shirtless. “Why are you doing laundry _now?_ Couldn’t you have done it when you still had a clean shirt to wear?”

He scowls at her. “I thought I had one. But _someone_ stole my last shirt.”

She plants her hands on her hips, red silk pooling around her arms. “I’m not giving it back.”


	19. Avatara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XCZwfBh6u_XsN3zY33L45rURL2E8zKxA/view?usp=sharing)

Zuko has taught before. He tries to remember that as he guides Katara through her first lesson with little success. He has taught before. But never firebending, and never _Katara._

_Focus on your breathing. Time each motion with your breath and the flames will respond._

After repeating the same advice twelve times, he decides to try Uncle’s method instead.

“Teabending is like fire brewing.”

Katara stares.

“I mean—firebending is like brewing tea.”

“Am I supposed to know what that means?”

Zuko’s face warms. “Never mind. Maybe we'll just do some breathing exercises and try the forms again this afternoon.”


	20. Fairytale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BQSizjmOl_RtrNrcVm6C5aMZVw8yKXo9/view?usp=sharing)

He’s used to feeling small. If there’s one thing his father taught him, it is the feeling of insignificance.

But he usually doesn’t have to look up to see the top of his boots. The slimy skin and warty knuckles are a change too. Zuko blinks one eye, then the other. _Wait._ That isn’t normal either.

“Katara!” he yells. Or he tries to. Yelling doesn’t quite _work_ when his tongue shoots out and wraps all the way around his body.

“Zuko?” Familiar footsteps approach, then stop short.

He blinks sadly up at her.

“Oh, you _have_ to be kidding me.”

* * *

  
“And _this,”_ Katara says, holding him at eye level, “Is why I don’t play Pai Sho with weird strangers.”

Zuko gives a mournful croak and she strokes the tufts by his ears. Somehow, he looks even grumpier.

The Fire Lord is a badgerfrog. She’s less surprised than she should be. Less upset too. She’s heard of enough spirit transformations to know there isn’t much danger. A kiss before midnight and Zuko will be back to normal. Until then—

She plops him into a basket. “Come on, Frog Lord. You needed a day off anyway. I’ll change you back before supper.”


	21. Aurora Borealis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mfI7cziHOvdK4bVCK9VyZKUnejUAR0QW/view?usp=sharing)

The northern delegates seem surprised by their arrival. It has been nearly a century since a southerner attended the Northern Tribe's winter festival, even longer since a firebender last attended.

Tomorrow there will be time to linger on the significance of their presence. Tomorrow there can be talks of history and peace and the future. Tomorrow there will be time to answer the chief's questioning looks.

But tonight, they disembark hand-in-hand and join the crowds in the square. Zuko bows low and Katara laughs and pulls him back up.

Tonight, they dance in time with the lights in the sky.


	22. Blood Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XwEu3aM3LjRzQr_Vy9Ha81fZtmU9hIK1/view?usp=sharing)

Normally, this would be the peak of her strength. The full moon at its highest point—but tonight, the moon is painted crimson, half concealed by shadow.

Zuko sits silent, watchful as the dark deepens. Katara can rarely sleep through the rush of power of the full moon, but the empty pit where her bending should be offers no relief. Without her bending, she cannot fight.

But she will never be defenseless.

While Zuko keeps guard, Katara takes up his swords and resumes her practice. She _will_ learn to fight without water.

Until then, Zuko vows to be her defense. 


	23. After the Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XfsWSuceeKNQC124tCmRPsQUKtNWXELB/view?usp=sharing)

They could fly farther. They’re only an hour from camp, and neither he nor Appa needs the rest. 

But Katara hasn’t moved, hasn’t spoken since they left that coward quivering in the rain. She sits curled into a ball, eyes unfocused, unblinking.

It doesn’t matter if Zuko is ready to go back. Only Katara matters now.

Before he can dismount, Katara latches onto his arm, nails biting into his skin.

“Why are we stopped?”

He eases her grip and looks deep into her eyes. “Are you ready to see everyone?”

She pauses, shakes her head.

“Then we'll stay here tonight.”

* * *

“Sokka doesn’t remember what she looked like.”

She isn’t certain why she’s telling him this. He’s been quiet, setting up camp on his own all evening, just waiting. The words come on their own, and she can sense him listening.

“I just realized that I can’t picture her either.” Her voice wavers. “Except for— _after.”_

Golden eyes watch her. Katara’s throat tightens. _That day_ is burned into her memory forever. She wonders when she lost the rest of them.

Zuko’s hand brushes her shoulder. “Katara—”

She shatters. But he catches her broken pieces and holds them together.

She feels safe. 


	24. You're in love with him/her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hh2Vu1otB3GmZq7uvQRCbwIwPU8fuDSF/view?usp=sharing)

“I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

Katara does her best to keep her expression neutral. “How’s that?”

“Like his smile is the most precious thing in the world.” Suki flutters her lashes. _“Oh, Zuko, I can’t resist your fiery gaze—”_

Katara swats her arm. “Stop.”

“Relax. You can tease me and Sokka all you want.”

Katara’s face heats. “Zuko and I aren’t like you and Sokka.”

“But you could be.”

_You could be together._

It frightens her how much she wants that.

Suki grabs her shoulders. “What’s stopping you?”

For the first time, Katara doesn’t have an answer. 

* * *

“I _know_ you don’t want me dating her.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “I don’t want _anyone_ dating my sister, but that’s beside the point.”

“What _is_ the point?”

“That you two have been pining for ages. Just get it over with already, it’s making me nauseous.”

This conversation isn’t new, but doubts still plague Zuko’s mind. Katara doesn’t feel that way for him. She _can’t._ No matter how much he wishes—

Her silhouette appears in the door and Zuko’s mouth goes dry.

Sokka slaps his shoulder on the way out. “Good luck, man. _Don’t_ give me all the details later.”


	25. Forced to share a hotel room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lpJ2J0_-Qd7mKFyPGTgjsMBwhXC3SfrH/view?usp=drivesdk)

Once might have been a coincidence. But this is the fourth time in as many months that an embassy bedroom has been mysteriously decommissioned before their arrival, leaving one room, one _bed_ for the two of them.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were trying to tell us something.”

Katara pokes him in the ribs. “Should we tell them that we took the hint last year?”

Zuko sighs. “We’ll have to break the news eventually.” A lopsided grin crosses his face. “Next time?” he offers.

She returns his smile and plants a kiss on his cheek. “Next time.” 


	26. Rainstorm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wWGxvGkMJ_dIfeDzIEIaARvi6DNz2328/view?usp=drivesdk)

He watches Katara from the balcony as she leads Kya through the garden. They crouch to watch the raindrops splashing in the puddles and Kya plunges her small, plump hands in. Katara sends a wave her way and they both laugh.

Zuko can’t help but smile. He has always loved the rain, though he never understood why before Katara.

He would join them. But this time he stays where he is under the overhang, their second daughter cradled in his arms.

“When you’re bigger,” he whispers, brushing the curls from her sleeping face, “we’ll play together every time it rains.”


	27. Heartbeat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ORIsfzB4EaDx0Yzu7xPgCSaT7EjM310s/view?usp=drivesdk)

The distance from the courtyard to his bedroom has never seemed so long. Zuko sags into Katara.

His vision swims and his heart stutters.

He hears her voice through a fog, whispered reassurances and gentle pleas. _Stay with me. Come on, Zuko, we’re almost there._

He can't find the strength to answer. Every step, every breath, every heartbeat burns, and the corridors stretch on endless before them. His pulse is too loud, too uneven. It _hurts._

Her grasp tightens around his waist. _I'm going to fix this, Zuko._

He believes her.

He wishes he were strong enough to say it. 

* * *

Even when the damage is repaired, when his heart, though weak, is whole again, Katara will not move. It’s too fresh, too raw. She can still hear him scream, can still see him encased in burning blue light. 

She will not risk losing him.

Against the crimson silk, he looks faded, a patch of pallor in a sea of red. But his chest rises and falls, and Katara has never heard anything more beautiful than his heartbeat, steady at last.

She pulls his hand into her lap and finds the pulse in his wrist. She counts his heartbeat until sunrise. 


	28. Ancient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Oz8xOsHbUoEs57QyW1z3Wy86j4qGO5Tq/view?usp=drivesdk)

There are a million questions he wants to ask. How the frozen spires came to be, how long this crystalline grove has stood to house the spirits of her people.

But this is sacred ground, sacred silence, and he knows better than to break it.

Zuko sits cross-legged on the frozen ground, his back resting against Katara’s.

There are whispers all around them, and silvery shapes coalesce into human forms. One looks like Katara. The spirit looms nearer and studies him a moment, then smiles.

His breath catches in his throat. He can feel it. He has the spirits' blessing.


	29. Crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ####  [▶ Podfic](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k5c1w-29uICtMaa_GI19UOt1fPpVwW88/view?usp=drivesdk)

“Hold these.”

She doesn't let Zuko respond before she drops her armload of flowers into his lap.

He blinks. “Uh— _you're welcome.”_

Katara smirks and sits beside him. “Shush, grumpy-guts. I'm making you a present.”

He makes a small, suspicious sound, but Katara raises a hand to silence him and sets to work weaving stems together.

“Flower crowns?” Zuko guesses after a minute.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Why?”

“Because you're a prince and I just realized that I've never seen you in a crown.”

Zuko pauses. “You just want to see how long I’ll walk around with flowers in my hair, don't you?”

* * *

He lets her settle the crown on his head and weave in a few spare flowers to keep it in place.

“You realize I'm not a prince anymore, right?”

“You're just grumpy because you look cute this way.”

His face flames. _“No._ I'm saying I don't have any more reason to wear a crown than you.” He peers over his shoulder. _“Daughter of the Chief.”_

She pokes him. “I'm not royalty.”

“I've been disowned. _Twice.”_

Katara huffs. “So?”

“So if you’re going to make me wear a flower crown, I'm making one for you too.”

He catches her smiling.

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINISHED IT!!! I FINISHED THE WHOLE MONTH!!! _WOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!_
> 
> _  
> _Thank you so much to everyone who's been following along—I can't express how much it brightened my month to see new feedback coming in every day!_  
> _
> 
> _  
> _❤ I love you all 💙__  
> 


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